BRUMBE has arrived.

[BRUMBE]

Collected my GT convertible from Clancy Motors on Monday.  Fitting the car had come to Australia on the Taipan - a name for many things but certainly for a very nasty Australian snake!

Ruby red, nickel wheels, tinted windows, 350 GT steering wheel (red stitching), Ford tower strut brace, the plinth cover and fuel rail covers painted ruby red with black painted detail, spare wheel / jack, Lakin number plate mounts, Platinum paint protection.  I got NSW US-style plates with the Mustang emblem, registration BRUMBE (I go to Brumbies games). Lakin mounts really feature the plates well - get some!

Clancy's (Michael Pentecost) did a great job.  I highly recommend them.

I had about 30 minutes in early 2016 in an ecoboost convertible and about 20 minutes in a GT coupe to base my decision on.  GT convertible was the decision.  Placed my order in April 2016.

Given I was basing my purchase decision on not much (and the ecoboost does impress with early torque), I took possession of the GT with some small concern (and lots of excitement) looking forward to a circa 3.5 hour drive from Clancy's at Bathurst to my home near Yass.  I'd driven Ford Territories for the last 7 years (and a Volvo 740 GL estate before that) so was used to a much higher seating position.

But within 30 minutes I was very comfortable in the car, impressed by its stance on the road, its ride (which of course is 'new car' firm) features, seats fit my body really well, headrest is excellent and the early hints at the engine power and performance of that engine and transmission.  Wind / road noise minimal with roof up - really impressive and quieter than some fixed roof cars I have travelled in.  Much better than my first convertible - a 1967 Datsun Fairlady that I had for 7 years in the 1980s, which leaked and had no heater.
 
Impressed that at circa 105kph the voice command system worked perfectly.  Wind buffeting is not an issue really, especially with side windows up.  Music very clear at less than half volume.  Whilst I was being subdued in mental 'run in' mode, I did pass cars a couple of times which saw me push over 3000 rpm quickly and, even though I was in NORMAL driving mode, that engine really wakes up after 3,000 rpm to see me at quite antisocial speeds very quickly - for safe and efficient passing of course!  Looking forward to more experimentation with drive modes as the engine beds down.

Started with the roof up and drove to Cowra.  Dropped the roof at Cowra (in time to pass a GT coupe - yes - we waved at each other!).  Great drive for almost two hours in the late afternoon with the roof down.  Cheeks sore from smiling!  Wife was leading / trailing in the Territory and was impressed by the GT's presence on the road.

So I am very very pleased with the car (at day 2).  Suggested to the wife I might be buried in it - like some viking chieftans were buried on land in their boats - but she said no to that.  She'll keep the car and cremate me in a cardboard box.

I guess car is Aussie now.  Sailed on a Taipan to Australia, Mustang now labelled BRUMBE and I would see my coyote engine is now an eight cylinder dingo!

I hope my first MOCA run will be with the Canberra chapter to Wakefield Park on 3 September.

Cheers

[JasonK]

Collected my GT convertible

Welcome to the GT convertible club. Not that many around, comparatively speaking.

Love your colour choice.

[BRUMBE]

Had the car just over two weeks now an driven over 3,400 km. 

Drove from home to Yamba last Thursday (about 940 km one way) as first big trip.  Sustained best fuel (98 octane) consumption 9.2 l / 100km (did see 9.1 for a few minutes) and then return on Sunday 9.6 l / 100 km - it is uphill from Yamba to home (near Yass) so that might account for it.  Kept to speed limits with a little extra on top.  I find my speedo reads 2-3 kph higher than indicated by a series of roadside speed guns (just as my last two territories did).  I do miss a digital speedo, though.

I was really impressed with how the car sat on the road (but did wriggle on rougher surfaces) and it just pulls and pulls - great engine which comes to the party straight up when asked to pass quickly.  Perhaps the stock exhaust could be a bit louder.  I rarely sensed the gear change (drove in Normal with Sport steering) unless I mashed the throttle and even then not clunky.

Cockpit with the roof up is quite comfortable, especially in the dark.  350 GT steering wheel is good.  Seats are good - no cramping or sore bottom in solo circa 12 hours trip each way.  I was really impressed with the ragtop as there was no whistle or other noise - no different to a hard top.  I spent about 2-3 hours each way with the roof off.  With windows up and heating footwell plus seats (seat heaters are great) I was not cold even when single figure temperatures were around (I do wear a sheepskin bomber jacket).  With roof down stereo still easily heard at less than half volume and I could use voice command and talk on the phone no problem at 110+ kph. 

On Sunday afternoon as I was south of Goulburn I was rained, hailed and snowed on.  No leaks anywhere in the car or roof.  Very pleasing.

What I do have is four stone chips (first was an hour out of the dealership on the day I got the car).  At 3,000 km service this week Ford's paint guy said he could touch up, but nothing I could not do myself.  So I went to my paint guy who said that ruby red metallic is not one colour - it's a base with a coating.  So I now have two tins of paint - base and top coat - which I will use this weekend once I clean the car to touch up.  Also found the ragtop was not beading water as I expected it would.  I have identified aftermarket products - either Raggtopp or 303 brands - so I will soon put a protector on the ragtop soon.  Let you know how it goes.

I am very pleased with the car - no 'buyer regret'.  Some people are surprised that I am using it as a daily drive and will do 30,000 km per annum but I am enjoying it every day.  This morning it was 2 degrees and sunny with no wind.  Took the roof down and drove my son to school - 20 minutes on the highway and 7 urban - and we were both warm and happy with the experience (those heated seats again!).  You only live once!

Cheers

[GLENN 70]

Mine has done 3,500 Klm now and it's great .. Wait till you flick the mode switch into sports + mode ,it's a lot more fun .  I quite often just shift it down to S on the shifter for over taking etc .  Track mode is really for the track I say .   Think I get 8.3 on the hwy run at the lowest .  I have a few stone chips on the front bar now  but what do you do . Taking mine back to Willowbank  drags Saturday the 9 th sept for a club day and hoping for a 12.8 ,well depends on how hot it's going to be on the day .

[mwizz]

Throw a few pics up Tim when you get a chance

[Sharkierulz]

You will find that the speedo over reads by a fair margin. I tested it with a Garmin GPS to make sure ....

Analog speedo at 120km/h indicated is 111km/h on the GPS. At this speed the cruise control setting reads 115km/h and what is awesome is that the ET digital speedo (engineering mode) is spot on 111km/h as well.

Fuel consumption at this speed on my manual GT is around 8.6/8.7l/100km which is bl00dy amazing.   

Since this photo I have now done 3300km and my consumption has gone up a bit .... probably because it now makes an awesome noise that means its driven a bit differently 

[BRUMBE]

Thanks Sharkierulz.

I have a Garmin so I'll test the speed myself.

How do I get to the digital speedo?

Some of you guys are getting great fuel economy.

[Sharkierulz]

Have a look on here is a thread somewhere about the digital speedo (or lack thereof)

Essentially press and hold the OK button on the steering wheel when you start the car, after about 5 seconds the screen on the dash will change and have an orange ET at the bottom and all kinds of info will appear. Move down about 6 screens to the speedo screen.

I am now in the habit of doing this every time I turn the car on as it works well and is super accurate.

[GLENN 70]

Did a test on mine again and at 100 kph 8.3 L/ 100 and at 110 kph 8.5 .  Check your fuel ratio meter and see where it sits at 100 kph cruising ,mine is around 14.1-14.3 at best . 14.6 /14.7 is perfect they say . They do run rich from the factory tho . 

[BRUMBE]

Today fitted Borla S-type axle back exhausts - much better!

Also fitted Airaid CAI (with red filter).

Will post pics and hopefully video of before and after exhaust.

[JasonK]

Today fitted Borla S-type axle back exhausts - much better!

I have the Cat-back version - isn't the sound from the Borla S-type great!

[BRUMBE]

Four months in and almost 11,000 km driven at average 11.2 litres / 100 km.  Very happy with this car. 

Being fortunate to have had a few new cars over the years - mostly Fords and acouple of Holdens - BRUMBE has broken in nicely like to others by about 7,000 kms, though the suspension is a little firm for a cruiser convertible (I read Ford propose to soften the suspension in the convertible, compared to the coupe, in 2018).

First point is that nothing has gone wrong.  No 'oil change' alerts, no faulty trim, no engine or transmission hiccups, no leaks in the soft top.  I do us 98 fuel which is the juice the engine needs!

Very happy with how planted the car feels on the road, especially highway.  The tyres have been fine for me.  I do flex the car's muscles and of course get to anti-social speeds very quickly, but the power to pass quickly and safely - and to pull up quickly - is fantastic.  Most mornings I have the roof off driving to work - 40 minutes, mostly 90 - 100 km roads and did so on the run home in the cooler months.  Too hot now but recent heat has shown that the A/C is very good and the cooled seats do work (as do the heat settings).  Stereo and voice commands also work very well with roof down.  Seats very comfortable for me.  Have used the backseat a few times and it all works well.  Boot storage also useful - have not been disappointed so far.

My son used the car to carry his date up to his end of year school formal - very cool indeed and he (and she) were very happy and got a big cheer as he revved the engine (Borla exhaust well worth the $).

I have no complaints and still look back at the car when I walk away and smile to think it's mine.

Cheers

[Yellow66]

Seen it in the carpark and it looks good.

[BRUMBE]

14,800 km done is just over 5 months.  That includes two circa 2,000 km return trips to Yamba.  No speeding fines, but did have a chat with a NSWP highway patrol officer last week who pulled me up because I was in a 'Mustang GT' (and so anticipated I was speeding!)  He was a decent chap.

Trip up to Yamba last week saw the car run in 39/40 degree heat - ran faultlessly and was very cool in the cabin set to 20 degrees so can attest that the convertible roof is well enough insulated.  Also no water leaks at all, on road or washing.  I find the cabin and seat really comfortable and have done three circa 12 hour drives very comfortably.

Just had the 15,000 km service as oil change message came on at 14,500 km - happy about that, but anticipated this longer oil life as I do mostly highway driving.  I note some people have had the light come on under 10,000 km. Only issue the service threw up was tyres - fronts still at 9 mm with rear left 5 mm and rear right at 4 mm.  Tyres are a bit disappointing as I have never smoked the tyres and very rarely had wheel spin so it's just the soft compound.  May replace with something different at what I hope will be about 25,000 km when they are fully worn, which should be about June (in time for winter roads).

Airaid CAI I think has helped the car - smoother power and improved sound.  Love the Borla S exhausts, especially in S+ mode when the computer (or I, on paddles) do rev matching on the way down.  Really can hear it, especially with roof down.

Fuel consumption overall is about 10.4 lt / 100 km for the 15,000 km which I am happy with.

As a daily drive I guess I am taking the car for granted a little, but tonight saw Grand Tour episode in which Hammond welcomes Mustang to the UK.  Made me realise how fortunate I am to have this car and think on how few years may be left when we can buy a naturally aspirated V8 in an affordable car - not a McLaren, Ferrari, Aston, etc.

Cherish your GT!